Whether a CFP® professional (“Respondent”) violated CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct when he failed to: (a) seek best execution for clients when investing them in share classes that charged 12b-1 fees despite the availability of corresponding share classes without the fees; (b) disclose in his firm’s Forms ADV and advisory agreements the conflicts of interest that existed regarding his recommendations to clients of mutual funds that contained 12b-1 fees; and (c) perform required annual compliance reviews.

Summary: Whether a CFP® professional (“Respondent”) violated CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct when he: 1) failed to clarify his lack of involvement in recommending and endorsing a particular investment to his clients; and 2) executed transactions on a client’s behalf without first confirming that the proper written authorization was in place.

Summary: Whether a CFP® professional (“Respondent”) violated CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct when he sold promissory notes without receiving prior approval from his firm, resulting in: 1) a National Association of Securities Dealers (“NASD”) bar; 2) two terminations; and 3) two civil suits being filed against him.

Summary: Whether a CFP® professional (“Respondent”) violated CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct (“Standards”) when he performed financial planning services for a client’s (“Client”) father (“Client’s Father”) without providing to the Client’s Father a written financial planning agreement and written disclosures and when he received the Client’s Father’s funds through a bank account controlled by Respondent.

Summary: Whether a CFP® certificant violated CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct when he recommended that his client sign an individual retirement account liquidation form without first discussing the consequences with her.

Summary: Whether a CFP® certificant ("Respondent") violated CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct when he did not inform his client (“Client”) of a change in the federal tax law that negatively affected a retirement plan Respondent and his partner had implemented for the Client.

Summary: Whether a CFP® certificant violated CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct when a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority investigation showed that he and his company violated securities laws related to the sale of securities on military bases.

Summary: Whether a CFP® certificant violated CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct when he: 1) did not fully inform his client (“Client”) as to the nature of an investment he made for her and did not provide risk disclosure documents to her; 2) did not inform the Client about a civil suit he initiated against the company that offered the product; 3) did not research the company that offered the product before the Client invested in it; 4) commingled his investment funds with the Client’s; 5) used the CFP® marks while not certified; and 6) violated federal and state securities regulations.

Summary: Whether a CFP® professional (“Respondent”) violated CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct when he: 1) failed to disclose in the financial planning agreement that his employer had a material conflict of interest because it maintained “preferred supplier” relationships in which it received financial bonuses for selling the “preferred suppliers’” products that were in excess of the financial compensation it received for selling other products; 2) failed to provide the client with sufficient alternatives to his investment recommendations; 3) implemented his investment recommendations prior to presenting the client with the initial financial plan; and 4) placed a majority of the client’s assets in deferred annuities, which did not provide a regular income stream to meet the client’s projected expenses and did not meet their goal of minimizing estate taxes.

Summary: Whether a CFP® professional (“Respondent”) violated CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct when he repeatedly purchased securities in a non-discretionary account without authorization from the client (“Client”).

Summary: Whether a CFP® professional (“Respondent”) violated CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct when he: 1) failed to add a living benefit rider to an annuity as requested by two clients; 2) represented that an annuity had a principal guarantee when the guarantee existed only upon death; and 3) failed to disclose his outside fixed annuity business to his employer.

Summary: Whether a CFP® professional (“Respondent”) violated CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct when he: 1) made unauthorized trades by liquidating a deceased client’s trust account causing the trust to incur commissions; 2) was unaware that the bank trustee could have contacted the broker-dealer directly to avoid transaction costs; and 3) agreed to accept $200,000 as a beneficiary of the client’s trust account, while maintaining his role advisor to the trust.

Summary: Whether an applicant for reinstatement of his CFP® certification (“Respondent”) demonstrated rehabilitation by clear and convincing evidence that he complied with all disciplinary orders and provisions of the Disciplinary Rules and Procedures and is, once again, fit to use the CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and certification marks.

Summary: Whether a CFP® professional (“Respondent”) violated CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct when he 1) failed to inform his clients of the taxes, penalties and interest associated with a Net Unrealized Appreciation (“NUA”) strategy; 2) failed to diligently follow up with the clients regarding the NUA strategy; 3) offered the Clients free advisory services, a refund of advisory/financial planning fees already paid and compensation for the early withdrawal penalty; and 4) did not provide documents requested by CFP Board.